Tuesday, February 19, 2013

I've got an excuse....

The culprit

At three o'clock or so this morning, General aka Itty Bitty, aka Rat Bastard, started playing with the shade cord above the bed.

Normally I leave this shade open about 10 inches, because all night long he and his sistercat Pirate jump on from the headboard to the window sill to watch possums or raccoons or whatever strange beings (the neighbors) are in the backyard. This window faces North and only in the MIDDLE of summer does any sun light really get in, but I use it as an alarm clock, because at about ten in the morning, it brightens the room enough to slowly wake me up.

When he started playing with the cord, I woke up fairly rapidly. He has a tendency to tangle up with the cord and pull it onto the bed, resulting in the blind unfurling. If the angle is right, it will miss the space between the wall and the headboard and land on our heads. He usually does this in the morning so it is my head he lands on, with a claw stuck in the cord or the blind on my head, so I am well attuned to the sound of him playing and immediately start swatting at him to get down.

He comes down with the cord in his mouth, pulling the release just enough to unlock it. I untangle him and set him on the bed and the blind starts to lower, I grab the cord and let it slowly drop, so I can evenly pull it back up again.

I should mention the cord is above Ed's head and he sleeps elevated with this funky wedge pillow for acid reflux, in essence his head is close to the place I have to be to get the blind to lock again.

I slowly start pulling the blind back up and try to lock it. It won't lock. So I sit up in bed and try again, still trying not to hit Ed. It won't lock. About the fourth time I tried, I glanced towards Ed and realize his eyes are open and he is watching me and has been for a while. Scared the bejesus out of me.

"General?" he asked.
"Of course, who else. I think the lock is broken." I said.
After two or three more attempts I said "screw it." and let the blind down.

The end result was a sleep that lasted until Noon. It's my day off, so no work worries, but I really need to do some chores and I don't move quickly in the morning (or morning for me). Coffee can take nearly an hour. Limbering up my bones can take two hours, especially if I slept for ten or eleven hours.